


Of Kings and Things

by romanticia



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Blue King - Freeform, Character Death, F/M, HOMRA - Freeform, Hospitals, M/M, Mikorei - Freeform, Multi, Nightmares, Possessive Behavior, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Red King - Freeform, SCEPTER 4 - Freeform, SaruMi - Freeform, Silver King - Freeform, Starting Over, Strain - Freeform, Sword of Damocles, kings - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 12:22:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4179696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanticia/pseuds/romanticia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Blue King is gone, and a new king has been chosen. Unfortunately the new blue king isn't as stable as the last, and SCEPTER 4 is in utter chaos, until certain members of HOMRA interfere with a proposal that Misaki despises (or so he claims).</p><p> </p><p> </p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first K Project fanfiction. Its SaruMi, but as the story progresses you'll see Kuro/Shiro and Kusanagi/Awashima. Also, some slight hints of MikoRei and Mikoto/Totsuka. But yeah.  
> I feel bad for killing off certain people, but it had to be done. I'm sorry.  
> Um, I made up a lot of things, I sorta completely strayed from the K project storyline some times, I guess it would be placed around the time just after the K Project Movie, so it isn't accurate. I've added new characters, terms, and all sorts of weird things. . . I should just leave the internet  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Please leave a comment if you liked it! Or if you didn't, I just want some feedback. Thank you :)

 

 

 

 

Munakata Reishi sighed, leaning back in his chair. Sunlight streamed in from the window, illuminating the puzzle he was currently working on, which was one of a sword. He picked up a piece and tried it in a few places before he found one where it fit.  _Ah, only 1,074 pieces to go,_  he thought as he glanced briefly at his holographic map of the city. Only 25 minutes had passed since he started, so he was doing well. He may even be able to finish it within the hour. Sighing contently, he wondered what his favorite subordinates were up to, Fushimi Saruhiko hadn't reported back from his duties yet, and Awashima Seri informed him that she would be taking the day off today.

He let a little more of his aura loose as no one was around, and by manipulating it he managed to get a few pieces of his jigsaw puzzle floating in the air. Munakata played with them a bit, turning them around and placing them in different spots with his aura, trying to keep control over it. Even after being king so long, his aura was still so hard to deal with.

Sure it may be convenient and the source of his power, but the aura was a dangerous thing that didn't like being told what to do. It was easy to let your guard down and have the aura controlling you. Munakata put a few more pieces into the puzzle, and let his eyes wander back to the map. It was illuminated from the aura, and Munakata could see all the little things. There were strains here and there, but none were causing trouble so he ignored them and returned to his puzzle.

He sat there, doing the same thing over and over, checking the map and playing with his puzzle, before he heard feet approaching. Munakata turned the map off, because god forbid his subordinates see him do anything serious or related to work, no that would be awful, and try to suppress his aura.

Munakata wasn't lucky this time. Rather than reluctantly obeying him, his aura decided to push back. Munakata gripped the handles of the chair tightly, and pushed harder, and the aura was about to surrender to him, but the door opened. Taking the random lucky chance, the aura leaped towards the person at the door before Munakata could stop it.

 

 

 

 

Doumyouji Andy let out a startled noise as he saw and felt a threatening aura come straight at him. He couldn't do anything, his own aura was much, much weaker than the one headed at him, he could tell without any computer measurement, so he braced himself for the attack.

All of a sudden, he was being pushed to the side, and he fell to the ground. He looked up at the one who'd thrown him to of the aura's way, and saw the third-in-command, Fushimi Saruhiko on one knee, sweating and trembling ferociously as he tried to ward off the extremely powerful aura with two of his red aura knifes, letting out his own red aura to counter the blue one. The blue aura was, of course much stronger, and Fushimi was about to be pushed back into the wall behind him from the aura's strength when Munakata suddenly repressed it.

 

 

 

 

Fushimi panted for a few seconds to regain his composure, before getting up. Wiping the sweat nonchalantly from his forehead, he forced himself to act like he wasn't about to be crushed, dominated by his king. He cast a judging, annoyed look to his subordinate, Andy, before clicking his tongue, acting like it was nothing.

Andy got up from the ground and stood straight in front of him. After a second in which Fushimi looked away, annoyed, Andy bowed at him.

"Thank you very much for saving me there, Fushimi-san," he thanked sincerely. Fushimi looked at him crossly before clicking his tongue again.

"Tch. Such a pain." Dealing with people was far too much work. Andy looked at him gratefully, which pissed him off even more. Why should he have to put up with useless weak people? Fushimi regretted saving him the instant he was under the aura's wrath. He didn't really mean to do it, he just sorta moved. It must have been that instinct in side of him, the part of him that craved and loved fights. Either way, he wish he didn't.

Luckily for him, Andy looked away and turned to his king, who was watching from his chair inside the open doors. Andy saluted him before presenting his name and reason why he was there. "Doumyouji Andy, reporting. I have finished the report on the new breed of strains, I have just sent it to you."

Fushimi stared coldly at his king, while Munakata ignored him. He sat comfortably in his big chair, resting his elbows on the table and holding his head in his hands, yet still managing to look prim and proper and professional. "Thank you, Doumyouji-kun. I will make sure to read it soon. I have to apologize, though, for scaring you like that. I did not mean to hurt you with my aura. I was simply trying to startle Fushimi-kun. "

 _Startle my ass,_  Fushimi thinks.  _That was down right attacking_. But Andy smiles and modestly refuses the apology. "No, no, don't worry about it." He salutes the king, and Fushimi lets out the smallest sigh of relief as he leaves.

Munakata finally looks at him, sitting back in his chair. Fushimi enters, tired of standing around in the door way. He closes the door behind him and leans against it, folding his arms and looking away at the room he has spent too much time in.

"What do you need, Fushimi-kun? Or did you come to pay me a visit?"

"Tch! Like hell I have time for that. The inspections are done, I have the data of the buildings destroyed by the strain as well as all the data on them compiled into this," he tosses a USB stick at his king, who catches it and pockets it.

It is a long moment before one of them speaks, and its Fushimi who starts. "I don't know what you do with your King aura on your own, and neither do I care but take care of it at work." He doesn't have to say it because it hangs in the air.  _What would have happen if I weren't there?_

Munakata is quiet a moment before he picks up a puzzle piece and put it into place. "Why don't you take a seat, Fushimi-kun?"

"I'm fine right here."

"Please take a seat."

Reluctantly, he complies, taking a seat in the empty chair across his king. He looks at the puzzle sitting on the desk, and picks up a puzzle piece and put it in place. Munakata's eyebrows furrow for a second before he lets out a snort. "Ah, I was looking for that piece. Thank you, Fushimi-kun."

Fushimi sighs, already irritated out of his mind before Munakata talks. "I was testing something with my aura and didn't realize someone was there."

"Cut the bullshit."

Munakata lets out an long exhale. "I don't know what you mean."

"You know very well what I mean. . .sir."

Munakata sighs, realizing that it is absolutely useless to try to lie or hide things from Fushimi. He already knew that, of course, but he was hoping that his favorite subordinate would let it go. Finally, he opens his mouth to tell the truth, which is kind of funny in its own way, Munakata muses, because he doesn't  _need_  to tell Fushimi anything. Yet he does.

"My aura is destabilizing itself."

Fushimi expected this, so he gives no outward response.

"Ever since I killed Suoh, its starting to become harder and harder to control."

Fushimi knows, he's seen it firsthand. He's seen his king squeezing his sword so tight it could break the handle, seen him dig his fingertips so far into his palm they start to bleed, and he's just witnessed the aura trying to attack somebody of its own accord.

"I'll be okay for now, Fushimi-kun. But I can't say anything for next year. Not even next month." Munakata looks at him deeply.

Fushimi doesn't make eye contact. "Why are you telling me this? Tell this to Lieutenant Awashima, not me," he grumbles, because he knows what Munakata's word means and regrets coming here in the first place.

"Because I expect. . . no, I know you will help me when I need it."

Fushimi stiffens in his chair. He hates it. Hates being relied on, hates his king telling him that he  _knows_  that he'll be there to help, hates everything.

"And what if I'm not?" He challenges monotonously.

Munakata stares at him for a few long moments in which Fushimi gave him the most annoyed look he could. "I know you'll be there, Fushimi-kun. I have proof of that from just a few minutes ago."

Fushimi's mouth twists into an irritated scowl. " I just happened to be in the vicinity."

"Yes, but you didn't have to save Doumyouji-kun. You did so instinctively."

Fushimi scowls at the wall behind his king, knowing he is losing the argument, but Munakata knows he hasn't won yet.

"Oh, that's right, have you found any new signs of the Silver King?" Munakata randomly asks.

"No."

"Hm, that's too bad. I thought I saw a flash of something on my map." 

". . .That was probably the notification that Doumyouji sent you a message."

"Oh, right."

". . ."

Fushimi gets up. "I've got work to do, unlike a certain someone," he grumbles with an annoyed click of his tongue. Munakata waves him off, but there was a new question hanging above both of their heads.

_Why did Fushimi save Doumyouji? Was it really instinctual? If so, where did that instinct come from?_

 

 

 

                                                       

 

 

 

Misaki leaned back in his chair, letting the empty can he was holding fall to the ground. It hit the hard floor with a loud clank and Kusanagi stopped cleaning his wine glasses for a moment to send him a lightly irritated look while telling him that he was old enough to get rid of his garbage himself. Misaki grumbled back a response, too lazy and tired to do anything otherwise. 

Anna sat across Misaki, wearing her big, gothic lolita dress like always. Misaki wondered how she could wear such a thing and voiced his wonder. 

"Ne, Anna, how do you wear such a hot dress in this heat?" Anna looked at him curiously.

"I don't mind the heat," she informed him in her quiet, girly voice. "I like it. It reminds me of Mikoto-san."

Misaki sighed. They were past the point in time where Mikoto's name was taboo, but they weren't encouraged to speak about him by any means. "I guess it is like a reminder of him, but seriously am I the only one feeling the heat?" 

Kamamoto looked up from the newspaper he was reading and glanced at Misaki. "I think its a tad bit stuffy in here Yata-san but I don't really mind it." Bando nodded beside him. 

Kusanagi smiled. "Maybe its just because you have a very sensitive body, Yata-chan," he teasingly suggested. Misaki's ears turned red. 

"Like hell I do! I'm not a w-woman!" Eric snorted at how he stuttered simply saying 'woman'. 

"Hm? Fine, then tell me me another reason you'd be so hot when you're wearing the least of all of us." Kusanagi smiled teasingly, leaning his elbows on the bar counter in front of him.

"Shut up," he grumbled without any heat. "It must be my clothes." Eric snorted at that as well, what clothes? He was wearing the lightest of them all, with just a light tank top and shorts.

All of a sudden, Anna let out a gasp. They all turned to face her. "What's wrong, Anna-chan?" Kusanagi asked casually, worry seeping into his casual tone. Anna looked down at her marbles before getting up from her seat. She walked across the bar to her seat where a map of the city lay with a few of her red marbles sitting in a cluster in the middle.

As soon as she sat down, the marbles began moving. She stared at them with a look of deep concentration, and the rest of the group at HOMRA watched concernedly, though they remained silent to help her concentrate. 

It only took her a few minutes, before she became a King (Queen?) it would have taken her at least four times the time it took her now, but the marbles eventually stopped at a certain point on the map and she got up. Putting her marbles away into her little purse, she looked at them all seriously. 

"Lets go," she urged. 

Kusanagi walked around the bar, and Bando, Kamamoto and Eric all got up. Misaki got up too after seeing the worried expression on Anna's face. 

"What's wrong?" Kusanagi asked as he flipped the open sign to closed. 

"It's the Blue King," Anna said after a moment, looking up at the sky where there was a slight shimmer. "He's in trouble."

 

 

 

 

Munakata sighed. There was a certain strain that was creating a clamor, he could see it on the map in front of him. As if to prove his thoughts, Awashima Seri knocked on the door moments later before entering. She saluted her king, a useless gesture after how comfortable and close they had gotten over the time they spent together but she did it none the less. 

"Awashima Seri, reporting. There is a group of very powerful strains causing a lot of trouble in downtown. The squad sent there to investigate has requested assistance."

Munakata looked at the bleeping dots on the map before temporarily turning it off. "I see. Can I ask you to take care of it?" 

Seri hesitated. "Yes, sir. . . but Fushimi-kun is a part of the investigating squad, and he requested your assistance personally," she wasn't sure if she should ask her king to come, but she knew that he and Fushimi were quite close, though the latter may deny that, and came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt to ask. 

Munakata's brow furrowed slightly. " Fushimi-kun asked for me? All right, I'll come as well." He got up from his desk, and the two of them made their way to Fushimi. 

 

 

 

 

Fushimi scowled. He hated being put in charge, hated being the leader of his own squad, hated the squad he was put in charge of. They were all so _stupid._ Akiyama, the one with the most common sense in his group, stood beside him. "Um, Fushimi-san, should we go and take charge?" 

"No," he answered shortly.

However Andy, _stupid_ Andy somehow interpreted that as 'no lets go attack blindly instead' and so he and the two beside him started charging towards the group of strains. 

"Stupid!" Fushimi cursed. "So damn stupid!" He watched the three idiots blindly make there way into the middle of the battle field, and there was a strain right behind him, ready to attack, as he stood stock still and drew his sword with a loud "Doumyouji, bato," and _holy fuck_ Fushimi had never seen more stupid people in his life, because the two that were with him had already pulled out their swords, but when they heard Andy they _fucking put their swords back in the sheath_ before standing still and drawing the sword like he had. 

In the middle of the battle field.

With powerful, dangerous stains all around them.

"Stupid," Fushimi clicked his tongue angrily as he zipped to them. Why the fuck would they _put their sword back in the sheath in the middle of a battlefield_? If they wanted to draw properly they should have done so beforehand! Not in the middle of a large cluster of dangerous strains! 

Before anybody could move, he threw his knifes around them in a circle and put up a shield, using his sword to stab the one strain that got caught inside.

"Idiots," he hissed darkly, and Andy startled. There was a bad aura coming from Fushimi. "Fucking clean your ears, dipshit. I didn't give an order to attack," he used his sword to fight the strain that was making its way inside his shield. Fushimi hated giving orders, but he hated it even more when he gave orders and they were ignored. 

"Fushimi-san?! Ah, I'm terribly sorry! I thought you said 'go'!" Andy apologized, fucking bowed right there in his spot and his two followers did the same. Fushimi gritted his teeth before clicking his tongue. Who the fuck did that?!

"If you have time to _fucking bow to me_ ," he hissed angrily. "You have time to fucking fight. Stop sitting around like a group of kindergarten children and kill some of these god damn strains!"

"Ah, hai!" Andy saluted him and Fushimi was so close to stabbing him because please, for goodness sakes, forget the formalities, go kill some damn strains, you piece of shit!

He called Akiyama, who was nervously standing a barely safe distance away, holding the other squad members back, with one hand on his sword, ready to fight at a moments noticed. Akiyama understood him, thank god, and gave the others the order to fight. _Thank god for Akiyama_ , Fushimi thought. _Thank god he has more common sense than a monkey and can listen to orders. Though I don't necessarily like him._

Fushimi retracted his aura shield and took care of a considerable amount of strains before more strain reinforcements came. He cursed. Great, all of his comrades were tired and starting to let their guard down, and more came? He clicked his tongue in annoyance once he realized that the group coming was larger than the one he just dealt with. Never the less he told Akiyama his orders and Akiyama gave them. Honestly, why couldn't he just be partners with Akiyama? Though he'd much rather be alone, Akiyama was the most decent partner he could get.

Clicking his tongue, he glanced at the time. That damn king of his was late! He'd personally asked for Munakata, so there was no reason Munakata wasn't in front of him right now. Feeling a slight chill, he looked up and saw a flicker of blue in the distance. Munakata was coming, thank god. Fushimi continued disposing of the strains one after the other, with a heartlessness that striked fear into the hearts of all around.

Eventually, Munakata was there, and it was only a moment before the two connected eyes. Munakata looked around and gave a slight nod, jumping into the battle. Fushimi followed as well, subconsciously covering his king's back as Awashima collected the information. After a few moments, she made her way to Fushimi and nodded at him. "Well done, Fushimi-kun, you did great leading everybody. Munakata-san will be taking control of the situation now."

He clicked his tongue. He knew that, what the hell was the point in telling him? Awashima and her damn formalities. They were rubbing on to the blue clansmen, and it was starting to have a negative effect as proven by Andy minutes ago.

Fushimi fought for a while until there were no free Strains left. The ones left were unconscious, dead or currently in a fight with someone else. He turned around and saw that his king was having a hard time with a particular Strain that reeked of power. _He must be their boss,_ he thought. Munakata, though struggling a little, did manage to get the upper hand, and with one swift blow to the chest it was eliminated.

He let out a slight sound of relief but that didn't last long. Gasping, he turned around, feeling a chill, and turned to look at his king. Munakata was on his knees on the ground, gasping and letting out noises of struggles, and you could clearly see him struggling to keep his aura under control, the aura was pushing and leaping out in random directions and was about to attack

 

 

 

 

Awashima hurried to make her way next to her king, and Fushimi watched with careful, observant and calculating eyes.

"Get away," he heard his king struggle to say, but she didn't listen. Awashima was an arm's length away and put out her hand to help her king up, but then all of a sudden the blue aura whipped out, and though Munakata tried to stop it it pushed her away with incredible speed and strength. 

Startled and scared, Awashima didn't have enough time to react properly, and was pushed back. Eyes wide, she knew she was going to hit the ground hard, and possible even break a bone or two with. 

 

 

 

 

But Fushimi, expecting such a reaction from his king, was right there. With one arm, he stopped her fall, wrapping it modestly around her waist to keep her from hitting the ground, removing it immediately and stepping away after he did so. Awashima wobbled at the sudden contact (and sudden loss of contact) but managed to keep herself steady. 

"T-Thank you, Fushimi-kun," she thanked him after she regained her composure. 

Fushimi clicked his tongue and looked away, before making his way to his king. 

He was just a sword's length away when he stopped. Fushimi crouched down so he was at the same level as Munakata. 

"I told you, I don't care what you do with your aura in your free time, but take care of it at work," he said after clicking his tongue in annoyance. 

Munakata, sweating heavily as the blue aura surrounded him, pushing and moving like a wild beast, gave him a weak smile. "I told you, Fushimi-kun," he started, panting. "I knew you'd be there when I needed you."

Fushimi frowned, alarms blaring in his head. He was trespassing on territory he never wanted to step foot on, though he asked. "Why are you talking in past tense?"

Munakata sweating bullets and panting still had the energy to give him a knowing smile. "It's time, Fushimi-kun."

His heart stopped. 

No, no this couldn't be happening. Not now, not to him. 

"I refuse," he hissed angrily, eyes blazing. "You never asked me."

"I didn't need to," Munakata coughed, and a little bit of blood spurted out of his mouth. Worry was rising in him, but Fushimi managed to push it back down. Though the same couldn't be said for his clansmen, and he could hear Awashima try to make her way over to the two crouching males, but Akiyama stopped her. "I knew you'd do it anyway."

"No," Fushimi hissed voice rising more than normal with his anger. "I won't. You can't. Not to Awashima, not to your clan." _Not to me._

Munakata, on shaky legs with a big inhale. "I've got a minute." His Sword of Damocles appeared in the sky, sending a flash of blue light everywhere and making the air shimmer around it. Fushimi got up in disbelief.

 

 

 

 

Awashima looked at the sword, and let out a scared, shocked gasp. Munakata's sword. . . his sword was in worse shape than the Red King's moments before his death. 

Her eyes widened. No, no that couldn't be, he wasn't, was he? "Munakata-san!"She cried out in panic. 

The aura around Munakata vanished, and he coughed up more blood. It stained the ground beside him, and Awashima had to tear her eyes away. Her heart was thudding painfully in her chest, each fast beat a squeeze. "You can't be. . .!"

Munakata smiled, his eyes as kind as gentle as ever. "I'm sorry, Seri. I'm leaving it up to you, so work hard, okay?" He smiled, before coughing up an alarming amount of blood. 

Awashima fell to the ground. "No," she whispered, tears making her vision blurry. She blinked furiously, ignoring the liquid streaming down her face. "You aren't."

 

 

 

 

Munakata gave her another fond, loving look. Awashima was like his sister, a close friend and confidant, someone whom he relied on so heavily and would put himself through almost anything for. Her unwavering loyalty, her mother like tendencies, the way she'd force him to eat that gross red bean paste which she loved, his heart hurt thinking about how much pain she'd be put through due to his selfish actions. He prayed, wished her all the best in her life before turning away. 

"And you all, my clansmen. Thank you for working so hard all the time and putting up with me. Please watch over SCEPTER 4 for me." 

Andy, Akiyama, Akira, Benzai, all of the SCEPTER 4 members were either protesting, crying, or both. Munakata had to swallow the lump building in his throat. 

"Fushimi-kun," Munakata started, feeling the Sword of Damocles tremble in the air above him. 

"Don't you dare," Fushimi's voice was quiet but it pierced his heart. His voice, for once, wasn't steady and arrogant, but shaky and trembled, which only added to his pain. "Don't you fucking dare." 

The Sword of Damocles was swaying precariously in the air. 

"There are people here that need you." _I need you._

The Sword of Damocles was now swinging like it was being held by a single thread.

"I'll never forgive you if you do this."

The Sword of Damocles fell. 

 

 

 

 

Misaki stood there in shock. What? What the hell? He stood with the rest of HOMRA at the sidelines, watching the Blue Clan. Anna had said the Blue King was in trouble, not that he was moments away from death. 

Even Anna was shocked, watching the scene in front of them with wide, shocked eyes. 

Misaki watched. Watched Munakata smile at Fushimi, watched the Sword of Damocles fall, watch his ex-best friend pull out his sword.

Watched Fushimi stab his king, the Sword of Damocles just centimeters above them.

Fushimi stood there, so still, like a piece of stiff cardboard, as Munakata collapsed onto him. Misaki watched them whisper for a few moments, before the Sword of Damocles started to disappear, dissolving into the air. Munakata's body started vanishing as well, his legs gone within moments. His arms, still wrapped around Fushimi's shoulders were next, and he could see Munakata struggling to say his last words. 

Fushimi didn't move, not as everyone around him fell to the ground as their king disappeared. Their Blue Clan symbols were next to follow, and yet Fushimi kept standing there, all alone as all his comrades remained on the ground. 

Finally he moved, his head turning up to look towards the sky where Munakata had disappeared to. 

Misaki wasn't sure, and the odds were more than likely against it, but he thought he saw something glimmer down Fushimi's face. A tear for his dead king. 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning/mourning after
> 
>  
> 
> AKA Munkata dies, everyone cries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the OOC behaviour at some points but idk man I thought it worked. Um, so I sorta have the slightest obsession with Fushimi and it's starting to show? A little? But please don't hate me for this
> 
> Anyways I just had a terrible, frightening experience. . . my dad has these instant rice packs he loves and I'm not allowed to touch them so he left and my mom left and I was like 'ima make some' and then I was in the middle of making it and then he came home and I was like shit shit shit mother****ing crap on a stick and I managed to hide it but I accidentally left the stove on in my haste to hide the rice. . . and so he goes to the kitchen and he's like wHY IS THE STOVE ON and i'm like I DON'T KNOW IM SORRY and yeah I managed to cover it up saying my mom was cooking bfore she left and left it on . . . idk if he believed me i don't think so shit im in deep crap when my mom comes home ;(
> 
> UPDATE: don't worry my mom covered for me it's all good ^_^  
> Also I forgot to flush the toilet and my dad threw a fit at my mom sorry dad it was me

 

 

 

 

Awashima let out a deep exhale, holding her head in her hands. She was utterly exhausted. It was only three days, about 73 hours after her King's death, and she was swarmed with _so much work_. She was Acting Commander and was suddenly tossed with a ton of shit to deal with. Munakata had been very widely known in name by most people, in the human world just as much as the world of Kings, and SCEPTER 4 had no break from constant apologies and questions and other things from huge, important companies, and other police forces around Japan, and politicians and farmers and hell, even the Prime Minister.

Anybody who knew of Munakata Reishi and SCEPTER 4, which was just about the entire country of Japan, was all over them. News reporters were stationed outside of their headquarters, and cameras were zooming in through the windows, trying to see and get statements from SCEPTER 4. Munakata's father was a politician, and Munakata himself a celebrity. There would be an official public ceremony for Munakata, a ceremony given to very important people such as himself a week from today, which Awashima would be expected to attend to.

She had so much work to do, things were just piling up and it would, on a regular day, take at least 26 hours, 8 extra large cups of coffee, every single member of SCEPTER 4 at his/her absolute best to finish this work, and that was absolutely not the case.

First of all, half of these things, reports on SCEPTER 4 after their leader's death and statements and formal letters to crazily important people were due, like right away. The letter Awashima was writing was due in an hour, and it was to one of the most influential politicians in _history_.

Second, SCEPTER 4 had this _absolutely_ ridiculous rule that after their leader's death, all members were to be given a week off, paid. This was seriously hurting Awashima. She needed everybody she could get yet at the SCEPTER 4 base there were only 5 people: her, Akiyama, two low ranking workers, a technician, and two cleaner robots.

And it wasn't like she could call the others and ask them to come. First, they were legally allowed this time off full and paid, and second, they were all probably mourning, as would she be if she had the opportunity. So she and the three others were stuck doing the amount of work their entire crew would struggle with, and though she tried forcing some of it on the technician, it was of no use. The poor workers, Awashima made a mental note to give the four of them a huge raise when this was all over, which sadly wouldn't be for another month. 

And lastly, Awashima only had three cups of coffee so far. 

She let out a deep exhale, rubbing her eyes deeply. She faintly remembered that she had mascara on and that rubbing it would make it smear everywhere, but at this point she was way too exhausted and stressed out to care. There was just so much to do. Awashima yawned, feeling exhausted to every pore of her body. Her shoulders were stiff from the weight of her big chest plus the weight of being Acting Commander, and she hadn't slept since the night of her beloved King's death.

She needed to organize her priorities, so she went and retrieved the box of files and letters and documents that she needed to complete and began separating them into different piles. The 'Finish ASAP' pile, the 'Need to do _now_ ' pile, and the 'Due in twenty five minutes' pile. Unluckily for her, the last pile was the largest, and she grabbed the paper on top of the pile and began writing.

As SCEPTER 4 was known to the public as Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau, Civil Registry Department, Annex 4, they were connected to a bunch of other groups, including the federal police and other bureaus. Every Commander, Corporal, Sergeant, Chief, Captain, Head Officer, and Sheriff of every police force, bureau or government service in Japan --and there were _a lot_ , most small areas had at least 3 branches of 4 different types of government services-- had to send a letter of apology, and over half of them decided it was time to discuss issues that they should have resolved years ago or ask for favors or basically things that needed a few hours of negotiating and meetings for. They made up the majority of the 'Finish ASAP' pile, along with other miscellaneous things such as the months-old paychecks of everyone in SCEPTER 4.

SCEPTER 4 also had connections to, well, everybody. The company that made their coffee machines or chairs or tables or uniforms, they were all sending messages as well, and like the police forces, over half of them had urgent business regarding the set of uniforms or tables that were supposed to arrive weeks ago. Majority of these messages were _'so sorry bout reshi dyign. oh and da computers u orderd all broke srry. if u send us a message in the next 30 secs we'll replace them fr free'_. And most of the things were much needed. These made up the 'Need to do _now_ ' pile as most of them had a time limit, but weren't as important as the final pile.

The last pile included things such as the 5 page long letter from the Prime Minister, as well as their yearly tax payments and utilities bills, because the electricity and gas companies that were running their building suddenly wanted them to pay. Not to mention they had to send the government a bunch of huge reports on their yearly activities, why they should receive the extra 20k grant they wanted, a report about every single thing regarding Munakata's death and another report regarding who was going to take charge of SCEPTER 4. And those were only the ones due immediately, there were a ton of more reports that had to be done as well.

Awashima wiped her brow as she typed with one hand. Why did Munakata have to die at the busiest time of the year? Why wasn't anybody else coming in? Why did Munakata even have to die in the first place?

Munakata. . . Awashima had to physically shake her head to clear her head of any thoughts on her King. If she thought about him for more than a second, she'd begin bawling and never get any work done. 

And Fushimi. . .

Awashima's face soften before her brows pinched together in worry. Almost all of the other clan members at least called or sent a message explaining that they'd be taking their allowed week of leave, but she hadn't heard from Fushimi ever since he'd walked away from everyone after killing Munakata.

. . .Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Fushimi walked in to the SCEPTER 4 base, his shoes clicking against the floor. Awashima and Akiyama stood up abruptly, eyes wide. Fushimi glanced at them, before taking a look at the base, and clicked his tongue.

"Tsk! How ridiculous. What the hell is this mess?" She heard him mutter.

"F-Fushimi-kun?" She managed to get up, her back cracking, and heart lightening considerably. Fushimi was here, he was here, she knew she could count on Fushimi to help her out.

Fushimi looked her over, eyes as cocky and judging as usual. ". . .Have you even bathed?" he scowled in disgust.

Awashima flushed a little, knowing she must look like the biggest mess ever. _No_ , she hadn't bathed. She probably _reeked_ , her hair was messy and tangled, mascara was smudged all over her face, her hands had ink stains, and not to mention the bags under her eyes. "W-well, I've been quite busy," she tried to clear her throat and look at her subordinate cooly and coldy as usual, but she was sure she looked like a homicidal killer with the mascara and eye bags.

Fushimi snorted haughtily and took a look at Akiyama. Akiyama was in no better shape, to be honest, with drooping eye bags and hair all over the place. He stunk as well. "Fushimi-san," he greeted his superior, relief evident in his voice. "Thank god you're here."

Fushimi just clicked his tongue and looked away, disliking how Akiyama sounded so relieved and dependent on him. "Whatever." Without another word, he walked over to Awashima's desk, grabbed half of the 'Due in twenty five --now twenty-- minutes' pile and sat at his usual station.

Just having another person made the others so happy, and worked with more energy. Plus, it was Fushimi, who was, though cranky, rude, impatient and intolerant, very dependable and an amazingly efficient worker, it was like their work load would be cut in half.  And not even 10 minutes after he came in, Awashima received 6 consecutive pings on her laptop, and saw that Fushimi had already typed out the response to the Prime Minister and a few other politicians, as well as the receipts for all of their utility bills. He had paid for them all and typed out quite a few letters in so little time, Awashima was amazed.

Not long after Fushimi came to save the day, the door opened. And in came Andy and a few others. They walked directly up to Fushimi who was typing at an inhuman speed with an amazing, rare look of concentration on his face. He didn't glance at them until Andy made a big deal of saluting to him. "Doumyouji Andy, reporting! Fushimi-san, you called?"

"Shut the hell up," Fushimi snarled quietly, not looking up from the laptop screen. "And get to work."

Awashima wasn't sure how exactly Andy and the others interpreted that, but they all beamed, looking like they just received praise from a Queen. "Yes sir!" They all scattered to their chairs after picking up some work from the non-immediate piles on her desk, which Awashima was glad for, because though she wouldn't trust them with writing a report she was at least somewhat confident in their abilities to write a somewhat decent thank you letter. Besides, they all would send it to Fushimi first for checking anyways.

The piles on her desk looked much less threatening, and she let out a small relieved smile as more pings came from Fushimi. Her savior came to pick up some more work from her desk as she scanned over his perfect reports, and only had time to forward it to the government officer or politician who was expecting a reply before she had more sent to her from the glasses wearing teen across the room.

 _Thank god for Fushimi-kun,_ she prayed as more consecutive beeps followed.

 

 

 

 

Misaki sighed, leaning forward on his elbows. Izumo looked at him in slight amusement when he let out another loud sigh. "What's wrong, Yata-chan?" he asked after a moment, hoping to get an amusing reaction from the small teen.

"Nothing," was the red head's airy response.

"No, really, what's got you sighing like a girl in love?"

The effect was instantaneous. "W-what?!" he sputtered, shooting up. His face was quick to turn red and Bando, Eric, Chitose, Dewa and Kamamoto had to hide a snicker. "W-what are you talking about?!" D-don't be ridiculous!"

Izumo barely managed to cover his laugh. He cleared his throat before asking. "Eh? So you didn't fall in love?"

Misaki continued sputtering while Bando laughed silently behind him. Even Anna looked amused, doing her homework in her chair at the side. "Of course not, like Misaki could ever talk to a girl," Chitose teased.

"Hm, I guess that's true." Izumo shrugged nonchalantly.

"K-Kusangi-san!" Misaki whined.

Izumo chuckled. It was one of their favorite things to do at HOMRA, tease Misaki. "But seriously Misaki, what's got you so down?"

This time he didn't say anything, and stared at a spot on the bar counter, face slowly turning a dark red. "I-it's nothing, really," he protested. "I-it's just . . ." he cleared his throat, and everyone turned to give him their full attention. "I-I was just wondering. . . h-how Saru was doing." His voice quietened as his face reddened and by the end he was just mumbling.

Anna looked lightly amused but more worried, as did everyone else. They had seen their ex friend kill his king, and a small, small part of them was worried and concerned for the traitorous bastard. Izumo kept his cheerful smile but his heart clenched a small bit, seeing how Misaki and Anna and everyone was saddened, and he thought about Fushimi, who was so twisted, yet seeing him kill his king. . .

He put on his reassuring smile and lightly tapped Misaki's shoulder. "What are you saying? He's tougher than a rock, you know that first hand. I'm sure he's doing fine." He didn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth, and other than Misaki no one else did as well. Excluding Misaki, they had all seen the split second look of pure sadness on Fushimi's face when Mikoto died before he put on his usual indifferent mask. If he had been upset at the death of Mikoto, who he supposedly hated, Izumo couldn't imagine how upset Fushimi must have been at Munakata's death.

Fushimi was messed up, but he was only human, and they all knew that very well. But they all smiled and laughed, teasing Misaki about how he must be in love with him, as they tried to ignore their own worry.

In the end, he'd be fine, he always was. _But this time,_ Izumo thought, _it may take much longer_.

 

 

 

 

Awashima let out a yawn, trying to stretch her back in the most sophisticated way possible. Over half of SCEPTER 4 ended up coming, and they were barely behind schedule now, she was sure that if half of the people who came today came tomorrow, they'd be back on schedule.

She was the last one there, so after turning off her computer and the few which people forgot to turned off she turned off the lights and air conditioning before heading to the washroom.

It was her first time seeing herself since Munakata's death, she'd gone to the washroom quite a few times (she drank a _lot_ of coffee) but always scurried by the mirror, not wanting to see herself in such a pathetic state.

She looked worse than she thought she would. Groaning as she leaned against a wall, she grabbed a tissue and tried to wipe away some of the mascara smudges and sweat all over her face. Awashima fixed her bun, planning to sleep in it, and after she sprayed a little perfume left to HOMRA.

It was a peaceful walk, and though it took half an hour she didn't mind. People who recognized her uniform, as she hadn't changed, bowed in respect and she received a few letters and chocolates from people offering their condolences. She didn't mind, and it was actually really nice talking to the citizens. An elderly lady who reminded her of her mother gave her a hug, a pack of crackers and told her to 'hang in there' and a number of young males gave her sweets and some red bean paste (it was on SCEPTER 4's official blog that she liked red bean paste because Awashima figured if guys were going to give her things --and they did, all the time-- they might as well be things she liked).

Her half hour walk turned into an hour and a half walk when she stopped to chat with a young mother who was married to one of the Blue Clansmen, they had a nice discussion about all of his flaws. And a few teenage girls wanted to ask how she was doing, omg she's so strong and pretty and I love your nails. An older man told her that she was the role model of his granddaughter, and that he was glad that his grandchild had such a strong and beautiful women as her idol.

Awashima was in a pretty good mood, though much more exhausted when she reached the bar. She immediately headed towards one of the stools at the counter and placed her bag on the chair beside her. She noticed that when she walked in the conversations all halted though they didn't start again after they realized it was her like usual, and nobody (Chitose in particular) came to flirt with her, which was strange, though she didn't care to investigate.

Izumo was quick to attend to her, previously seemingly helping Anna with her homework. The young strain must have been going to school, Awashima noticed. She gave a polite nod to the Red King (Queen?) who got up from her chair. With the help of one of the Red Clansmen, Awashima wasn't sure if it was Bando or Eric, she sat in the chair beside Awashima.

She looked at the young girl beside her, unsure what to say. She didn't have to say anything, when Anna looked her straight in the eyes, and spoke with utmost respect and honesty. "I'm sorry about your King. HOMRA will help."

Of course, Anna of all people would know exactly what she was feeling like. She smiled at the young Strain, her eyes softening. "Thank you very much, but I do not think we need your assistance as of this moment. However, I cannot same say the same for the future, so if you'd be so kind as to extend this promise to the days to come, that would be much appreciated."

Anna looked up at her blankly, before Kamamoto leaned down to whisper it in child language.

Izumo chuckled. "Seriously, Seri-chan, Anna is just a child, please keep that in mind," he teased.

Awashima tried to hide the light flush on her face and nodded sharply, clearing her throat. "My apologies, I forgot that you are but a child."

Anna smiled, shaking her head as if to say 'No, that's all right.' With Kamamoto's help she got off the chair and resumed completing her homework. 

Izumo scooped up some red bean paste and dropped it into a drink with a slight grimace, sliding it over to Awashima.

"Here, Seri-chan, it's on the house." She took it gratefully. "Thank you very much."She took a few sips, stirring the bean paste with the drink. It was one of her favorites, something she ordered a lot, a few glasses of this would barely give her a buzz but the taste was amazing.

"How are you doing?" Izumo asked carefully, leaning over the bar to look at the blonde.

Awashima let out a small sigh, feeling the gazes of everyone in HOMRA on her back, though she was too tired to put up any pretenses. "Though it has been difficult, we are doing well. We have this nonsensical policy allowing all members a week off after the Commander's death and majority of our workers decided to take up on that offer. And forgive me for saying this but our work load is absolutely ridiculous and unreasonable. However we have worked our hardest to make our late King proud, and our efforts have paid off. SCEPTER 4 will be back on the streets in barely a weeks time. A public memorial will be held next week to honour Munakata-san." The gazes shifted, for they were all trying to give her respect. A few decided to leave but the core remained.

Izumo let out a noise of sympathy, urging her to continue.

"Luckily for us, Fushimi decided to grace us with his presence, and in doing so brought a large amount of our clansmen. We are almost back on track." There was a noise and all of a sudden somebody was in the stool beside her. She looked and saw the red headed short skater blushing and not meeting her eyes. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"U-um, A-Awashima-san, i-is um, S-Saru ok?" He wouldn't meet her eyes and the blush darkened as he spoke.There were a few quiet snickers in the background and Izumo had to hide a smile, as did she.

"Yes, Fushimi-kun is doing quite well. He worked with amazing speed and efficiency and was an essential part in the completion of our work today. I am proud to say he has done very well as a member of SCEPTER 4."

Misaki looked visibly relieved, and she could hear sighs of relief coming from the boys behind her as well. Even Izumo and Anna looked glad to receive the information. "R-right." He nodded jerkily. "T-Thanks." And with that he left, taking the remaining HOMRA members with him.

Only Awashima, Anna and Izumo remained in the bar and Awashima felt much more relaxed, resting her head down on the bar counter. Anna, feeling like an intruder during a private moment decided to go upstairs, taking her homework with her.

"And then there were two," Izumo said, walking around the bar to sit beside his friend. Awashima glanced at him, too exhausted to do anything else. "Seri-chan, how have you really been? You look like you haven't ate or slept in forever." _'Or bathed,_ ' he added mentally.

"I apologize for looking like such a mess, I will make sure to look appropriate and presentable the next time I come."

"That isn't what I meant," he protested. "Have you been taking care of yourself? Did you properly mourn your King? Have you had a nice cry?"Awashima gulped, looking at a wall across her.

"I'm afraid I've been too busy to pay my respects." There was a slight trace of tears in her eyes, and Izumo noticed it. He gently pulled her up, and at her with as much seriousness and care he could, with his hand gently massaging her feminine shoulders.

"Let me take care of you for tonight." Awashima, too exhausted to do anything simply nodded.

 

  
 

 

 Five days after Munakata's death, and SCEPTER 4 had managed to not only finish their work, but the next few days of work in advance, something that rarely happened, like ever. The next few days could be taken easy, as everything was finished save things that could not be completed beforehand, such as patrolling, and unforeseen work that appeared, such as incidents with Strains. Awashima was sure that when everyone else came back, they'd be right on track, with squads strolling leisurely around the city and people slacking off at work.

However Awashima was concerned for Fushimi's health, he'd been working so hard it was almost unimaginable that he was Fushimi, the arrogant bastard who constantly disobeyed and showed up his superiors, so she organized a mandatory drinking party after work. 

Fushimi clicked his tongue in disgust and annoyance when he heard the news, and Awashima could hear him mumbling in his quiet tone about how it was a stupid waste of time. But as Acting Commander she had full authority and used her power to force her subordinates our for a drink, though most went willingly when they heard it would be paid for by herself. She'd take it out of the budget, Fushimi had made some cuts and they had extra money just sitting around. Most of it went to the cafeteria they were planning to remodel but it wouldn't hurt to spend a little to make everyone happy.

Awashima tried interacting with what were now her subordinates, but some were really irritating when drunk. She saw Fushimi sitting at the edge of the table on his phone, and a peek over his shoulder showed he was playing with the official website, trying out new functions and colours. She wanted to include the teen in the conversations with everyone else, but she wasn't Munakata and didn't know what to do.

She really had no clue how Munakata made someone as stubborn as him follow orders, because though he did whatever he was told to, he had the absolute worst attitude. if she didn't know how smart, innovative, creative and talented he was, she would definitely have fired him for his behavior. He didn't even try being subtle about his dislike towards everything and he was so rebelliant in everything he did.

It irritated her, sometimes she had to bite her tongue to keep from cursing at him, because sure he was upset about Munakata's death, but that didn't give him the right to act like such a little shit to everyone else. Fushimi had criticized Benzai on his report writing skills so harshly that she was sure he was in tears at the end. Tatsuya had to redo his work six times before Fushimi accepted it. And Daiki whimpered when she asked him to take a paper to Fushimi. 

Awashima understood that he was upset, he was hurt and scared, she was too, even more so as she was the Acting Commander until the Blue Aura chose a new King. But she never treated her subordinates like that, and she was known as the Ice Queen.

So when Fushimi started to leave she grabbed his arm and told him to sit, using her authority to make him stay. She ignored the look of pure annoyance with a tinge of anger and sat, being even more cold than before to anyone who tried to talk to him.

Awashima ignored it, but she was getting angrier and angrier as time passed. Fushimi didn't have to scowl at Hidaka for offering him a drink. He didn't have to snort and make rude comments at Ren's story. He didn't have the _right_ to treat anybody like that. Everybody was hurt, everybody was upset and depressed. What made him so different?

She gave him some leeway before because he was the one to put the sword through his king, while everyone else only watched, but he didn't even seem to care. Awashima wasn't sure what he had done the first two days, but she had seen no remorse, no sadness or pain from him concerning Munakata's death. He made fun of Yoshino for crying, even. His behaviour had to stop.

So when everyone left, she got up and sat in front of Fushimi, with drinks surrounding her, because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do this without hitting him unless she was under the influence. So she took a large swig of a can of beer, hoping to get a buzz (her tolerance was very high).

Finally, she glared at him. "Fushimi-kun." she started, trying to keep the anger she was feeling out of her voice. "Your inappropriate behaviour has to stop."

Fushimi finally looked up from his phone, and gave her a defiant, rude and judging stare. It only angered her even more, and more so when he dismissively looked away.

Awashima wasn't as calm and patient as Munakata. She didn't have the patience to talk calmly and put up with Fushimi as Munakata did. "You're the second in command now, _Fushimi-kun_ ," she tried to keep the snarl out of her voice when she said his name, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded. "You need to start acting like it. Everyone--"

Startling Awashima, he got up and grabbed a drink. When he sat back down, she noticed the label on the bottle he was taking a large gulp from, 85% alcohol. She was surprised, because the beer she was drinking was only 6%, was he planning to get flat out drunk right away? The thought pissed her off. He could at least have the decency to wait until she was done speaking to get a drink, and the fact that he wasn't even planning to hide that he wanted to get drunk while listening to her speech made her more irritated, and she squeezed the can she was holding so hard she crushed it. Luckily, it was mostly empty so she didn't get wet.

"The others all need somebody to help and guide them. This is the most crucial time. Everybody is still reeling in the aftershock of Munakata's death and they need somebody their for them." She paused to take a swig, noticing that Fushimi did the same, downing a large portion of the bottle in one go, coughing a little after.

"I understand that you are hurt and upset, Fushimi-kun. I have given you some leeway for that reason. However I don't beleive that it gives you the right to treat anybody the way you have done so far. It is understandable that you are angry and --"

"What do you know?" Fushimi mumbled, a light drunken flush on his cheeks. It wouldn't surprise her if he was wasted all ready, the amount of alcohol he just inhaled would be enough to get a 6'3, 250 pound man piss drunk in minutes.

Awashima paused, trying to understand what he was saying. "Pardon?"

"Did you kill him?"

Her head cleared up, getting the feeling that whatever he was about to say was going to be important in her quest of trying to understand him and that he wouldn't say this unless he was as he currently was.

"Did your sh-sword go through his sh-chest? Did you hear -- and feel -- the sound of hish r-rib cage breaking? Did you fe-feel his breath on your c-cheek? Did his b-blood stain your clothes?" His voice got louder and louder until he was speaking louder than she ever heard him before, his voice cracking repeatedly, stammering and slurring in his drunken haze.

Awashima watched him carefully, flinching at his words. "F-Fushimi-kun. . ."

He shuddered, seemingly calming a little. When he spoke again, his words were at a much quieter level, she had to strain her ears to catch what he was saying through his slurs and stammers. She noticed his body was trembling, and his the bottle in his hands was quivering.

"Do you h-hear it? I hear it a-all the time. C-c-cruch, his bones breaking by m-my hands. On repeat. All da-ay. I see h-him when I c-close my e-eyes. Smil-ing at me. Talking to me. L-like he isn't dead. Like he didn' leave e-everything. Scept-err 4. You--Awashima-ssan. M-Me." He paused, looking up at Awashima, and she had to stifle a gasp.

He looked. . . absolutely broken. His eyes were dull, empty, like he lost all hope, like he had nothing to live for. There was a suspicious glimmer in his eyes as well, as if he was barely holding back tears. She had to bite her lip, feeling an astronomical amount of guilt slamming into her chest, she was being super insensitive to his feelings. How could she have expected Fushimi-kun to get over killing somebody he was so close to, his King, that quickly? Of course he was hurting about it, this was Fushimi though, and would rather die than let anybody know his true feelings and thoughts. However, that didn't apply to when he was drunk, clearly. 

"I shee hish b-lood on my hands. His b-breath on my sh-cheek. His la-st words in m-my earrs. Do you know what he s-said? H-is last breath, la-st moment, and he. . .he said--" he cut himself off, and Awashima had to push back a small feeling of disappointment. She wanted to know Munakata last words, like, really badly. Fushimi was the only one to hear what he tied to hard to say with his last breath, and she wanted to know. However that feeling was thrown out the windows when she heard a small noise come from the teen in front of her, and her heart absolutely broke at the sight in front of her.

Fushimi had wrapped his arms around himself, curled up in a ball and hugging himself tightly in some type of self comfort. The sight of that disturbed her enough, nobody should ever be or feel that alone, and she didn't doubt for a moment that that was probably what he did when he was alone, but that wasn't all. His head was tilted down, but she could see his glasses fogged up, and the wet drops on them. His shoulders shook silently, but he didn't let out more than a few quiet sounds, and probably even so because he was drunk.

Maybe the alcohol made her a little more emotional than usual, maybe Fushimi's words made her that upset. Either way, tears formed in her eyes. "Fushimi-kun," she whispered, crawling around the table. When she was beside him, she pulled him close, wrapping her arms tightly around the young teen, pulling him close. "Fushimi-kun."

He cried quietly for another moment, before he spoke again. "How do y-you all do it? W-walk like he isn' dead, like he d-didn' leave us. I h-hate this fee-ling. I hate it s-so much. I don' know what to do."

Fushimi's body shook against her shoulder. Awashima think she finally understood her King. Fushimi was strong, he was brave and intelligent and had brick-- no, steel walls hiding his heart. But if Munakata, somehow, in some way got past those walls made of titanium for even a moment, to see the hurt, scared and confused boy behind them, she had no doubt that she would have treated Fushimi in the same way as her superior if she had known how. . . _human_ he truly was. All the times Munakata favored him, patiently waited for him, put up with him, cared for him, it all made sense now.

"T-There's a hole. It f-feels like I j-just lost a l-limb. My a-arm, l-leg." He was silent another moment. "N-not my l-limb. M-my brother."

She gasped, eyes wide and mouth open.

"Fushimi-kun," she could do nothing but hold him tighter. After a moment of trying not to lose what was left of her control of her emotions, she wiped her eyes and puled him so that he was sitting up, looking at her. 

It was a sight she knew she'd never forget. Strong, arrogant and proud Fushimi slumped over, tears streaming down his face, a look of pure fear, desperation, confusion and insecurity, shaking silently, crying silently. She swallowed hard, and turned his face up so that she looked at him in the eyes.

"I may not be able to be Munakata. . . your brother, but. . . I can be your sister."

Fushimi's eyes widened for a moment, his drunken state not allowing him to digest the information as quick as he normally would. Though when he did, he leaned forward, and clutched onto Awashima, desperately holding onto the sides of her uniform. Awashima wrapped her arms around him, shushing him and rocking him gently, strocking his back and rubbing the back of his scalp, trying to calm him. Though he let no sound but a few sniffles out, his body trembled, the shoulder of her uniform where Fushimi's face was pressed into turned wet at an extremely fast rate, and his nails almost left holes in her uniform.

They stayed like that for a long time, until Fushimi finally fell slack. Awashima looked down at him, a ton of thoughts and emotions running through her head, and eventually fell asleep as well. For the first time since his King's death, Fushimi had a good sleep, though it could be blamed on the alcohol.

 

 

 

 

Early the next morning, Akiyama walked to the hall where they had drunk the night before, searching for his PDA. He opened the door to see a sight that startled him so bad he froze for a few, long moments and almost let the door handle slip through his fingers, catching it at the last moment to prevent a noisy clang.

Awashima and Fushimi were curled up together. Both were sleeping, and though it looked suggestive and intimate at first, it was actually not. Fushimi was lying sideways, his head lightly pressed against Awashima's large chest, and his hands clutching her waist. Awashima's arms were wrapped loosely around his shoulders, but other than that they had an appropriate amount of distance between them. It looked like the way a larger and a younger sibling might sleep when the younger one had nightmares.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that Fushimi's face had light tear tracks, as did Awashima. His glasses had stains, presumably where tears landed. He smiled softly. Awashima wasn't the only one who noticed the Fushimi's worsening behaviour. However, unlike Awashima who was angered by it, Akiyama was worried. He had no way to approach the unapproachable Fushimi, so he stayed back and watched, wishing he was able to do something about it.

Akiyama was the one holding Awashima back when Fushimi killed Munakata, knowing that the two shared a deep bond and received a smile from his King as he held their Lieutenant back. So he saw the tears on Fushimi's face up close, and watched helplessly as Fushimi walked away. He also spent the past few days assisting him as much as possible, picking up his papers from the printers or replacing his laptop screen cover when it got dirty. Akiyama wasn't sure if Fushimi noticed but continued to do so anyways, wanting to help as much as he could.

He found his PDA and pocketed it, and was about to turn to leave when he heard a ruffling of clothes. He froze and turned around. Fushimi had woken up without a peep and was cracking his neck, seemingly ignoring Akiyama. Akiyama noticed how he winced and held his head, and his eyes flickered to the bottle beside him, eyes widening at the alcohol content. If Fushimi drank that he'd be having a horrible hangover. Fishing in his pockets, he found the tablet he was looking for and picked up a bottle of water from the side, offering them to his superior.

Fushimi blinked up at him, eyes slightly red and puffy, and took them wordlessly. When he tried to get up and stumbled, Akiyama jumped to help him up, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. _Knowing him,_ Akiyama thought, _he probably doesn't want anybody to see him, or talk to him when he's in this state_. So the two of them silently walked down the corridors of the SCEPTER 4 base. Akiyama helped Fushimi walk, arm never leaving his shoulders, and silently guided him to his room. When he was at the door Fushimi, with shaking, unsteady hands pulled out his keys and Akiyama took them from him, easily finding the key to his dorm as it was similar to his.

Akiyama unlocked the door, and Fushimi stumbled in, but paused when he was right inside.

"Thanks," he muttered gruffly, and Akiyama smiled. Hopefully Fushimi would be okay soon.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment :) i'd love to know your opinions on this fic. Thanks for reading!  
> Oh, I also wanted to say that a friend recommended this amazing site to me, 16Personalities.com , its a personality test. I'd love it if some of you took it as well, and told me what you got? I'm the Analyst: Logician -- INTP. I'd love to know what you all are :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on // Death is not the end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I have no clue what I'm doing
> 
> I'm sorry for making you read my confused unorderly ideas that is this chapter

 

 

 

  

"Benzai! How many times have I reminded you that I needed this report done before the ceremony? Yet you say you still have not completed it?" Awashima snapped. 

"S-sorry Lieutenant--er, Commander. I'll have it done in the next three minutes I swear!" he promised, desperately typing on his laptop. Awashima scowled at him for a moment longer before looking away. 

"Goto! Where are the flowers?" 

Goto startled. "U-um, I put them in the lobby. . . ?"

"What do you mean you put them in the lobby?! We are going to take them with us to the ceremony!" 

He scratched his cheek somewhat nervously. "Um, I'll go get them right away!" 

"Hurry!" she snapped, watching his retreating back for a minute before looking away. "Fushimi-kun? What are you doing?"

Fushimi looked up at her lazily. "I think I like coral blue #5 best as our website background colour," he drawled. "But then again, shellfish #6 is nice too."

Awashima could feel a vein throbbing on her forehead. "This isn't the time for that!" she tried not to roar, because she had a reputation to uphold as the Ice Queen, even if she felt like a raging gorilla.

She heard a ping coming from her PDA and took it out to see that Benzai had mailed her. She sighed in relief, this report had to be sent in immediately, any longer and they would be receiving calls from the Gold King demanding his report. However her relief was momentary, as when she opened up the file attached, Awashima threw her reputation out the window and punched the wall. The dent she left momentarily pleased her, before she realized that she would have to pay for repairs. 

Angrily, she decided to take her frustration out on Benzai, who was the reason she was so angry in the first place. "Benzai! You call this done?! There are spelling errors everywhere! And do you not know any grammar!? What is this, ' _and if we is not_ ' and _'and of in case of which is we do take is every responsibility'_? Did you not take 6th grade Japanese!? Were you raised by wolves?!" She inhaled deeply. "Doumyouji could have written a better report!" 

At the last line, Benzai flinched. Doumyouji looked up cluelessly from where he sat on the floor, playing with a tanuki somebody brought for good luck. Awashima could feel laughing silently behind her and whipped around, wearing glare so cold it could freeze a piece of burning wood. Enomoto flinched. 

"Enomoto, did you have something to say?" she asked, voice eerily calm. 

He flinched again. "N-No s-sir!"

Awashima paused. "Sir?" 

Enomoto was sure he saw something very dangerous and scary, like a demon hovering behind her. He fell over. "M-madam!" he desperately cried out. 

She nodded, satisfied. "That's better." She turned to Fushimi. "Fushimi, fix this report. It has to be send to the Gold King in," she looked at her watch. "12 minutes. Good luck." 

Fushimi sighed, irritated. "Why do I have to pick up on that idiot's slack?" he muttered, but Awashima knew that he'd have it done. 

Goto came back, running into the room like his tail was on fire. "Awashima-san," he panted, holding out something. "These are the flowers." 

She stared at the wilting, droopy bouquet of weeds and found her temper flaring up again. "You expect us to take _this_ to Munakata-san's memorial?!" 

 

 

 

 

Akiyama muffled a laugh into his sleeve. It was an important day, Munakata's public ceremony and burial, but he was glad to see everyone was acting as usual. If even one person had been upset, the whole atmosphere would have changed.

It was, after all, the day they all would finally bury Munakata, and get the closure they needed to move on. The day after tomorrow, they would appoint Awashima as Commander, Fushimi as Lieutenant, and Akiyama as Third, which would be their positions until the blue Aura chose the next King. Because of the inconsistencies in the timings of the Aura choosing a King in the past, they decided not to wait for the next King to appear before changing the chain of command. It was no secret that Awashima would be the most probable candidate for the next King (Queen?) anyways. Akiyama had no protests, he was honoured to be the next Third-in-Command.

"Fushimi-san, where are our rides?" he called to his superior. Fushimi lazily looked at him and pointed out the window. Awashima, wondering as well, followed Akiyama to the window and looked down.

"Fushimi-kun! What happened to the limousines I told you to get? Do you really think SCEPTER 4 can attend Munakata-san's burial in those dirty pieces of metal?" Awashima snapped. Fushimi glanced at her dismissively.

"These were cheaper by 300 yen," he lazily gestured towards the old, dented taxis below. "Besides, it's not like we're going to be sitting in the taxis during the ceremony anyways. Its just a ride."

Akiyama heard Awashima go over to deal with that mess and sighed, fondly shaking his head. Fushimi was incorrigible.

 

 

 

 

Awashima stepped out of the limousine, her back tall and straight. Her head was held high, her buns tight and perfect, her makeup on point, clothes clean and ironed and all around the perfect, pristine woman she was.

Fushimi stepped out behind her, looking around and clicking his tongue in annoyance, shooting glares and dirty looks at the cameras.

Akiyama was next, his body mirroring Awashima's. When he stepped out, the limousine drove away, and the next pulled up. Enomoto, Hidaka, Benzai, Doumyouji and a few others came out one by one, all looking clean and professional. The last limousine pulled up and out came whoever didn't fit into the last one.

"Fushimi-kun," Awashima hissed out of the corner of her mouth, feeling photographers snapping photos from every direction. "Stand up straight."

With a click of his tongue, he complied, but rather than looking professional and elegant he looked demeaning and condescending. He looked somewhat haughtily at the reporters and photographers standing at the sides of the building and looked away dismissively.

Awashima swore at him under her breath but otherwise didn't move to fix his behavior. Everyone stood in their formation, and when Awashima took a step they all moved into their next formation, with Awashima at the front, with Fushimi and Akiyama a little behind her to her sides, and everyone else behind their second and third in command in neat lines.

They walked that way into the doors where they found their seats for the ceremony. One of the guys in the back pulled the bouquet he was hiding under his uniform and passed it around sneakily till it was in Awashima's hands.

When it landed in his lap, Fushimi rolled his eyes, couldn't Awashima have just brought it in herself? Why must they have to play this game of hot potato simply because Awashima found the bouquet insulting and didn't want anyone to see it up close? It wasn't even bad. Hidaka had gone out with Goto to pick some flowers up from the local park and in Fushimi's opinion, it was more than enough for Munakata. Weeds were good enough for him, for that matter. Nevertheless he and Akiyama spent the whole car ride trying to arrange the stolen flowers in a way that looked presentable, which wasn't that easy as they both didn't have an eye for such things and not to mention that half of it was dandelions. Though they did manage to do it in a way that Awashima barely accepted.

While Goto and Hidaka were picking flowers, Benzai had scrambled to find limousines for them, while Fushimi reluctantly fixed his report. It was actually quite funny listening to Benzai beg for three limousines for the afternoon, and Fushimi had been hit over the head with a rolled up report by Awashima for snickering quite a few times. He was still somewhat sore about that, and as revenge he spread his legs wide on the chair he was sitting on, let his back slouch, crossed his arms and rested his head back.

Awashima absolutely fumed beside him, and whispered threats under her breath. Fushimi smirked when he heard them. They were weaker than Misaki's. She'd pull every strand of his hair out from every part of his body? Castrate him and feed his dick to lions? He couldn't help but snort when she promised to make him sleep on the streets for a week, but reluctantly sat up. He enjoyed his room. 

He sighed and zoned out when the ceremony started. Because SCEPTER 4 was a government service, they luckily hadn't had to organize the ceremony, but Akiyama had to confirm a bunch of things, and Awashima would be giving a long-ass speech. Blah blah blah, all these people who barely even knew Munakata were pretending to be upset that he died, when they were probably more upset they couldn't get their daughter to marry the politician Munakata's, Munakata Reishi's father, son.

Try as he might, Fushimi knew he wasn't over him, and would probably never be. Munakata was important to him, somebody that he'd trusted with his life, cared for, put his life on the line for, though he'd never admit to any of those even with his life on the line. He'd respected Munakata to a great extent, given Munakata his full loyalty and trust, and somehow his cold, twisted heart grew fond of of the man who smiled gently at him and catered to his every whim.

He glanced at Awashima out of the corner of his eye, watching her composed face as she nodded respectfully to the politician sitting beside her, and tuned out when they started making polite chit chat. He had no interest in politics, he'd left that up to Awashima and would continue to do so in the future.

While Munakata was alive, politicians supported their every decision, backed them up in their appeal for grants and allowed and gave SCEPTER 4 many privileges and luxuries many other government services didn't get, all for the sole reason of trying to gain favor with Munakata's father, their fellow politician.

Now that Munakata was dead many were sure to turn their backs on SCEPTER 4. Of course, it wasn't going to be done all at once. There would slowly stop spoiling SCEPTER 4, stop agreeing with their decisions and supporting them, some might even ask for favors or compensation for their previous support. 

Politics were very annoying to Fushimi, and he had no interest in meddling with something Awashima seemed to be having control over. He watched her nod very obviously to one politician who was scowling in front of the camera, and the politician had no option but to nod back, knowing that if he ignored Awashima in front of the nation, as the ceremony was being broadcasted live, it would hurt his reputation. If he also made a move against SCEPTER 4 in the next while, people would link it to now wen he scowled during the memorial and he'd be the villain, hating on poor SCEPTER 4 which just lost their leader.

Of course, there were the few that did know about Kings and Auras and what SCEPTER 4 really did, and they would help, knowing their true value and role in keeping the city safe and all, but those could only be relied on to an extent.

However to anybody that did not know of Kings and Auras and Clansmen and the Sword of Damocles, it would probably not make any sense why SCEPTER 4 destroyed the amount of buildings, helicopters, vans and stuff they did.

Fushimi sighed, barely muffling a yawn. It would be a few hours until this pointless waste of time and money ended, so he might as well get a few winks of sleep.

 

 

 

 

Misaki tapped his foot against the ground anxiously, and watched the screen. Izumo stood behind the bar and silently dried glasses, eyes shifting between Misaki and the screen. Anna mirrored him, only she wasn't drying glasses. After a moment, she took a red marble out of her pocket and looked at Misaki through it.

Kamamoto noticed what she was doing and stiffened, catching everyone else's attention, who watched Anna. Anna didn't use her red marbles to read people's thoughts much anymore, not after the death of their late King. If Anna wanted to know what Misaki was thinking, then she must be worried. If Anna's worried, then everyone else is as well. After a few moments, she put it away.Though her face showed no change, nobody relaxed or stiffened further.

"Misaki," Anna called, and Misaki jumped a little in his seat. 

Turning around to look at the girl sitting a few stools beside him, he paused, only just realizing the quietness inside the bar. "Yeah, Anna?"

"You don't need to worry. Fushimi is fine."

Misaki's face reddened a little, and he protested, claiming he wasn't worrying about that monkey, and everyone relaxed. Izumo sent him a little smile. Everyone had been confused when Misaki came in, sat on a stool, turned the TV on, set it to a news channel and just sat there. He usually wasn't up by now, and if he was, he'd be at the skate park. Their confusion turned to worry when they realized that the news channel was broadcasting the Blue King's funeral.

Misaki acted like he didn't care, but hearing it from Anna made him glad. If Anna said that Saru was fine, then Saru was fine. The camera turned on screen and Misaki caught a glimpse of his old friend. Saru was sitting straight, arms folded, legs crossed, looking all professional (if not arrogant) and all, but Misaki could tell that he was sleeping. He smiled, Saru was completely okay. He didn't need any pity or support or anything. He was fine.

. . .Without him.

His smile faded.

 

 

 

 

Akiyama stood there stock still as Awashima spoke. "If anyone has any objections speak now or forever hold your peace," she called out and Awashima had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. This was just a formality, a ceremony held to promote Akiyama to third-in-command, not a wedding. 

When nobody spoke up after a moment, Awashima continued. "Then, as the Commander of SCEPTER 4, I hereby declare Akiyama Himori as the official third in command." There was a polite applause, and Akiyama bowed, feeling ridiculous in the fancy hat Awashima made him wear. Peeking over to the side, he saw Fushimi smirking at his get up and closed his eyes. He could hear Doumyouji and Enomoto laughing, no matter how quiet they thought there were. 

Finally, the ceremony was over and Akiyama got off stage, trying not to look like a savage as he ripped his ridiculous looking hat and suppressed the urge to burn it, opting to politely throw it on a nearby table. Hidaka and Goto came up to him, and he braced himself for the teasing he knew he would receive. 

"Congratulations on your promotion!" Goto smiled. "you looked ridiculous up there." Akiyama smiled back, rolling his eyes. 

"I wouldn't have wore that if Awashima didn't make me," he replied honestly. "Ever. In my life." 

Hidaka laughed. "Good thing I got a ton of pictures." Akiyama groaned, he didn't want to be reminded of the ugly hat that he was sure made him look 7 inches shorter and constipated. "Come try the brownies, they are really good!" He let himself be pulled away to the refreshment stand and conversed with the others as Awashima signed some documents or whatever. 

Akiyama noticed Fushimi looking awkward as hell, sitting at a table in a corner and fiddling on his phone, and sighed. Excusing himself from the others, he made his way to the scowling teen. 

"Enjoying yourself, Lieutenant?" It took a moment for Fushimi to look up and realized that Akiyama was talking to him, and another to realize that right, _he_ was the Lieutenant. 

"I'm not used to that title," he mumbled, looking away. Fushimi's ceremony had been only an hour or so before his, and Awashima's before that. It would take a while for them all to stop addressing Awashima as Lieutenant and get used to their new positions and titles. 

Akiyama pulled out the chair beside Fushimi and sat there. His superior stiffened, but Akiyama continued to sit there. After a while, he relaxed and put his phone away, leaning back in the chair. 

They sat there in companionable silence for a while, watching Doumyouji spill orange juice on himself and the floor, and Benzai slip in said orange juice, snickering when Enomoto tripped over Benzai. It was a long moment before they moved, and it was to look at Awashima as she sat down beside Akiyama. 

"They really are a bunch of idiots aren't they?" she asked with fond annoyance as she watched the idiots of SCEPTER 4 run around like headless chicken. Akiyama smiled and agreed and Fushimi let out a noise of agreement. 

Awashima let out a yawn, covering it daintily with her hand. "Ah, today was tiring. Fushimi-kun, be sure to look presentable tomorrow, we're going around and re-introducing ourselves and Akiyama to all the branches of SCEPTER 4."

Fushimi groaned, sliding lower in his chair. Akiyama sighed as well, it was pointless and a waste of time, just like the ceremony, and he had no doubt that when they came back from their day of pointless meetings Doumyouji would have burnt a drape or Goto would have crushed another coffee machine. 

"It has to be done," Awashima let out a sigh. "But for now, let's watch these idiots make even bigger fool of themselves. Akiyama, do you have your PDA on you? I want to get this on film," she gestured toward Hidaka laying down and rolling and wiggling on the stage, doing some ridiculous seal dance as the others laughed.

Akiyama smiled, and pulled out his phone. Munakata may be gone, but everything seemed to be okay. He just hoped it would stay that way.

 

 

 

 

Fushimi sighed and slumped onto the sofa in Awashima's new room, Munakata's old room. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling super grateful that Awashima bought it, Munakata had only the Japanese style tatami mats in the corner of tea ceremonies. Akiyama joined him, resting his head back. Fushimi stiffened for a movement, but soon relaxed. Awashima let out a quiet groan as she stretched her back, slumping onto Munakata's--her big boss chair.

They had spent the entire day talking to the other divisions of SCEPTER 4. The research division, which did all the experimenting and testing on the strains, decided it was the perfect time to request for a couple thousand extra dollars, and spent an hour presenting a list of reasons on why. In the end, Fushimi and Awashima were so fed up with the bullshit excuses, 'One of our test subjects wanted a certain brand of ice cream but we couldn't give it to them because of the lack of funding' they had left Akiyama to deal with that mess. Akiyama stole little money from here and there and made a couple promises to appease them as Fushimi texted him tips on dealing with the eccentric druggie that was the head scientist of the lab, calling it his first task as third-in-command.

They had next gone to the public relations section, the part responsible for all the advertisement, support, press releases, anything involving the people and their image of SCEPTER 4, and  any official statements that were to be released. They spent quite a bit of time criticizing Fushimi's arrogant behaviour at Munakata's ceremony, and even more lecturing him about how SCEPTER 4 needed to have a good image in the public and glaring at young children on live news broadcasting wasn't the way to do it. Fushimi simply snorted and looked away dismissively, which angered them even more, and thus they spent even more time sitting there. Awashima only let him get away with it because she knew that everyone there was probably super stressed because of the sudden attention that SCEPTER 4 had been receiving after Munakata's death, and were taking it out on the main branch.

They then went to the computer specialists, the ones who among other things, were supposed to keep SCEPTER 4 computers running, though most of the time that fell to Fushimi because of their incompetence, and he spent the entire time glaring at the frightened IT men and computer specialists who were pointedly avoiding Fushimi's glare.

After re-introducing themselves to the other divisions, they finally called it a day and made their way to Awashima's room, where they all were lying and lounging around.

Akiyama was a little surprised at Awashima's behaviour. He was aware that she was a lot colder and composed with the rest of the crew than she was in private, but seeing her slump against the desk, he never thought she was like that, she didn't seem like the type to be so unprofessional even behind closed doors. It was nice, knowing that Awashima trusted and felt comfortable enough around him and Fushimi to drop all her masks as the Ice Queen.

Fushimi's head rolled as he slumped to his left, and Akiyama looked at him. Fushimi was an enigma, a confusing paradox. He had the talest, toughest walls around his heart, but Akiyama was getting peeks at the real him that he hadn't ever seen before. The way he was so comfortable with Awashima, even though they didn't get along very well during work, the way he watched Awashima out of the corner of his eye when she was getting hit on, sighing minutely in relief when she turned them down, the way he'd stiffen when someone mentioned Munakata or HOMRA, Akiyama was starting to realize what was important and what wasn't.

And Munakata was part of the former. It honestly astounded him how protective Fushimi was of Munakata. He wasn't very vocal about it, but when ever anyone mentioned how annoying it was that Munakata forced them to play games, he'd shut them up tactfully by glaring at them and sending them off to do some pointless errand like cleaning the coffee machines because he split coffee on it, even though Akiyama knew he didn't drink coffee (because caffeine didn't have any effect on him and he wasn't fond of the taste). Or when someone sighed about something or the other involving Munakata somehow, Fushimi offered them some of his work if they weren't busy.

Akiyama wondered if he'd ever get to be that close to Fushimi, the hole their ex-Commander left in his heart wouldn't be filled by him that easily. Either way, he wished Munakata the best where ever he was.

 

 

 

 

The first thing Munakata thought when he regained some of his consciousness was that his bed was hard.

His bed wasn't hard. Being the Commander of SCEPTER 4 had its perks, one of them being that he had a lot of money to spare on unnecessary things, one of them being a super plushy, warm, soft bed.

Another thing was that his blanket wasn't soft thick. This felt like he was hardly wearing anything, when he usually was half suffocated every morning by the heaviness of the sheets we wore to sleep. This wasn't his blanket.

The obvious conclusion was that he wasn't in his room. This realization caused Munakata to stiffen ever so slightly, clenching his muscles to get himself ready for an encounter.

Munakata opened his eyes slowly, trying to let his eyes adjust to the bright light shining on him. . . Sunlight. Which was further proof that he wasn't in his room, because his bed was placed so that he'd never have the sun in is face in the morning, as it irritated him.

His eyelids felt heavy, and he yawned subtly, blinking to wake himself up. There was white everywhere, and it was making him strain to adjust to the brightness. 

Looking down, he noticed the dark blue that was his uniform and shifted subtly, confirming he was in his full uniform, own to his shoes. however his sword was missing, which he wasn't surprised about. He didn't recall what happened last, it was possible he had been drugged and abducted.

 

Where was he? He tried to remember what happened last. there was an incident with the strain who was eating the flowers in the park, and the homeless creature agreed to let himself be studied by the Researchers at SCEPTER 4 in exchange for a home. Munakata remembered that he left a note on his desk to remind himself to build more room for the strains SCEPTER 4 was studying, they were getting full.

After that, he had dinner with Awashima, he remembered that she wanted to try out a restaurant and Munakata agreed to accompany her, he had a suspicion that she wanted to try out the restaurant so she could come back with that HOMRA member she was interested in. Never the less, they had a great time, and Munakata enjoyed listening to her complain about Fushimi and tell him about Doumyouji's foolishness, it was a nice break from work and everything.

He had went home and had a good sleep, something that was rare after he had killed the Red King, who's memories haunted him whenever he tried to rest.

The next morning had been uneventful, the only thing he cared to remember was the puzzle he started. Then. . . Munakata's memories returned, and he clenched his fists. Awashima screaming, his clan members looking terrified and confused and just _so damn scared_ , and Fushimi's tear filled eyes as he stabbed him, he had to inhale deeply for a moment.

Awashima, the one woman he cared for had had tears streaming down her face, not even bothering to hold back her sobs, she had never looked so betrayed before.

Akiyama, the kind young man who found a home within SCEPTER 4 had looked so hurt and upset and yet understanding, had wrapped his arms around Awashima to keep her from interfering with something that had to be done, he knew that there was nothing he could do to save the man who had given him a home, and had watched Munakata die with a resigned look of hopelessness on his face, one Munakata had never seen before, never wanted to see before.

Doumyouji, the naive and pure guy who pointlessly got angry when anyone insulted his Captain, the same Captain who had forced the innocent guy to watch his own death, had never wore such an expression, so scared and confused and similar to a lost child. Hidaka, Benzai, Goto, all of his men who had followed him without question, had watched him die, horrified and desperate, and the look of pain on their face--he had done that to them.

And Fushimi, the confused, troubled _boy_ \--the kid was not even in his twenties yet-- had looked so betrayed, so hurt, so--

Munakata couldn't. He just couldn't. Inhaling slowly to calm his racing heartbeat, he blinked furiously to keep the water in his eyes from building and falling. He couldn't think about them right now, the emotions were still too raw and if he went any further, he would fall into a deep hole he wasn't sure he could get out of, one of regret and pain and he simply couldn't. Not yet. 

He decided to distract himself by something else. While he was alive, during his last moments, he remembered the red. The Red King had come, little Anna who respected him and looked up to him in a way, wearing a pained expression he hadn't seen since the death of her previous King. Their gazes had locked for a single moment, and Anna had sent him a wordless message. _I promise to watch over your clan for you. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Goodbye. I'll never forget you._

Standing beside her was the core of HOMRA. Kusanagi's sunglasses had fallen off, and he stood wide eyed and horrified. Misaki, the little guy Fushimi cared so much about was standing in absolute shock and disbelief. Kamamoto had mirrored him, as did the other members he couldn't care to remember the names of.

Sighing shakily, he decided that indulging himself in self-pity wouldn't do any good for him. He was dead, after all, and even if he wasn't lying in a pool of regret wouldn't do anything for him or the people he left behind. So he sat up, and took a look around the room he was in.

White. White everywhere.

The door, walls, floor and bed itself was white. The sunlight illuminated it as well, making it so bright and hard to look at. The only bits of colour in this room were Munakata himself and the light brown table beside the bed he was on.

Should he get up? No, there wasn't any point, might as well sleep in. He was dead, so anything that happened really didn't matter to him. As suspicions started to creep into his head -- _Was_ he dead? Was this hell? Since when was hell so white?-- he was startled out of his thoughts by sounds coming from outside the door.

He stared at it, wondering if he should get up. However he didn't need to as suddenly the door shot open, and somebody walked in.

"Wow, you were right! He is awake!"

Munakata could do nothing but stare.

_Was that . . .?_

The intruder shot him a big, friendly smile.

_It was._

It was a slim guy, with short, neatly combed light brown hair with brown eyes. He wore a long sleeved white shirt, which had an upturned collar, and brown pants with black shoes. The earring on his left ear shone brightly as the sunlight caught onto it, and he wore two bracelets on his left wrist with a fang tooth neckace

_Totsuka Tatara._

A chuckle was heard from outside the door, before a second figure walked in.

"Well, Tatara-kun, I was predicting the future," he answered to the boy's exclamation.

It was a man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail, with bangs parted in the middle. His brown eyes looked at Munakata without any surprise or judgment, just open friendliness. He wore a traditional Japanese light purple and dark blue yukata, but it was his black hat and red umbrella he carried that sparked Munakata's memory.

_Miwa Ichigen._

Munakata, after being surprised constantly by Fushimi had managed to perfect his mask of calmness, and was glad that he did so. Because Munakata would have jumped or yelled in surprise by who walked in next.

_Suoh Mikoto._

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. This was supposed to be filler but I love Munakata too much so this chapter happened
> 
> But I haven't read the K project manga or novels (yet! I will read them . . . eventually) so I literally am making everything up. I'm so sorry. Feel free to teach me the correct terms for like the Sword and King and Aura stuff and all, I'll e using a lot of them in the next chapter I'd reeeally appreciate it. 
> 
> Also, I'd love some comments, please tell me what you want! Any requests or anything, I'd gladly take them! I want to know your opinions, and talk to the few people that have read this crappy fic, so please answer any/all of the following questions: What did you think of Mikoto walking in? Totsuka? Thoughts on Akiyama? Misaki? What were you expecting? What do think will happen next? Why do you think that that Munkata, Ichigen, Totsuka and Mikoto are all there?
> 
> Thanks for reading :)

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned, the next chapter will be coming soon!  
> Please leave a comment if you liked it! Thank you :)


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